Winds of Fortune (12 page)

“Oh, okay. I just thought Deo…never mind.”

“I…I unwittingly said something to upset her.” She should simply let the matter drop, Nita knew that. But the agony in Deo’s eyes had been so deep, so raw, she still ached from having seen it. “I asked her about having brothers.”

“I see.” Tory sighed. “Her twin brother Gabriel was killed in a boating accident when they were teenagers.”

“Oh,” Nita murmured, “that’s horrible.”

“I know,” Tory said. “I hadn’t been in town very long, but something like that in a community like this affects everyone. I can still remember Nelson calling me down to the harbor. It was the middle of the night, and it was pointless to transport Gabriel anywhere. We tried to resuscitate him right there on the beach…God, we worked on him for almost two hours, and we just couldn’t get him back.” She shook her head. “I thought Deo was going to lose her mind.”

“She was with him?” Nita automatically searched the room, wishing desperately she could find her and say something to ease the pain she had carelessly incited. But Deo was gone, and so was the young officer she’d come in with.

*

“You don’t have to leave,” Deo said dully, opening the driver’s side door. “I’ll just wait in the truck.”

Allie climbed in the opposite side and slid as close to Deo as the gear shift would allow. “I need to get back.”

“Why don’t you try to catch some sleep, then.” Deo started the truck and pulled away from the hospital.

“You look pretty bummed out. Are you okay?”

Deo forced a smile. “Yeah. Close your eyes.”

Allie gave her a questioning look, but finally gave in and curled up sideways with one hand on Deo’s thigh. The small connection felt good, and Deo covered Allie’s smaller hand with hers as she drove. Within seconds she could tell from the soft even cadence of Allie’s breathing that she was asleep. Route 6 was deserted at one-thirty in the morning, but she was careful of her speed. Allie trusted her, and she wanted to take care of her as she slept.

Forty minutes later she shook Allie’s shoulder gently. “How do I get to your house?”

Following Allie’s directions, she soon pulled into the narrow drive of a small cottage set on a side street between Wellfleet and Truro. “There you go.”

“It’s late. Come on inside,” Allie said.

“No, you need to sleep.” Deo didn’t add that she didn’t feel like sex. Usually when she was stressed or angry, sex helped. When she was hurt, she mostly wanted to be alone, because being intimate when she was needy made her feel too exposed and uncomfortable.

Without a word, Allie got out of the truck, walked around the front, and pulled Deo’s door open. Then she took her hand. “I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a really bad day. I could use some company.”

Deo couldn’t think of a good reason to say no. She followed her inside the small cottage and into the neat, tidy bedroom at the rear. A double bed sat in one corner, a dresser with a small TV occupied the wall at the foot, and a dressing table with chair filled the far wall.

“Bathroom’s across the hall.” Allie yawned and unbuckled her gun belt. “You can go first.”

On Deo’s way back, a naked Allie passed her. She undressed by the side of the bed and climbed naked under the sheets. A few minutes later, Allie crawled in and curled up against her side. Deo put an arm around her and kissed her gently.

“Night,” Deo whispered.

Allie drew her leg up over Deo’s thigh, murmured something, and fell promptly asleep. Deo listened to the sounds of the unfamiliar house, lightly stroking Allie’s shoulder. There were times when she felt like an impostor in her own life, when she couldn’t figure out why she was doing what she was doing or why she didn’t feel anything when she knew she was supposed to. Allie was warm and soft and Deo knew if she stroked Allie’s breast she could wake her, arouse her, and Allie would beg her to make love to her. Her need would become Allie’s, and her pain would be transformed into Allie’s desire. She could lose herself in Allie’s body, in her excitement, in her need, and the places that were numb inside her would fill with Allie’s pleasure. If it were any other woman, she wouldn’t hesitate, but she couldn’t bring herself to use Allie that way.

Allie stirred and kissed Deo’s neck. “You okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Go to sleep, baby.”

“Okay.” Deo kissed Allie’s forehead and closed her eyes.

“Time to wake up, baby,” Reese murmured as she kissed Tory’s cheek.

Tory rolled over on the stiff muddy-brown vinyl couch in the ICU waiting room and grimaced at the cramp in her lower back and the fuzzy headache clouding her brain. “Oh God. I am too old for this.” She smiled up at Reese and grasped her hand. “Hi, sweetheart. What time is it?”

“About five-thirty.”

“Have you been up all night?” Tory took in Reese’s rumpled uniform and the ever darkening circles beneath her eyes. The shadows above her high cheekbones were not new, but it was rare to see Reese in an unpressed uniform. “I thought you were going home to sleep?”

“I stopped by the station and started going through Nelson’s inbox.” Reese shook her head. “I just started this job and I’m already behind. Any news?”

Tory sat up and skimmed her hands through her hair. Bri and Caroline slept on the adjacent couch, their arms and legs entwined, Bri’s face pillowed against Caroline’s breast. Even in sleep, Caroline seemed to be sheltering Bri, one hand cupped against the back of her head and her arm circling Bri’s waist. Keeping her voice low so as not to awaken them, Tory said, “Our last progress report was around two, and they were having some problems with his blood pressure. The nurses had just started an intravenous drip and promised to let me know if there was any problem.”

Reese sat beside Tory and drew her close with an arm around her shoulder. “If everything’s okay, I’ll take you home. The baby is still with your sister, and Kate will pick her up this morning. You’ll be able to get some sleep.”

“What about you? Aren’t you coming home?”

“I will. As soon as I get the day shift squared away.”

Tory wanted to object, but she knew how difficult Reese’s task was right now with Bri not working, the Chief absent, and the height of the season upon them. With thirty or forty thousand summer residents plus countless day-trippers crammed into the tiny village, a constant stream of minor accidents, injuries, thefts, bar brawls, and the occasional more serious assault resulted. She stroked Reese’s thigh through her khakis. “Promise me you’ll try to come home this morning?”

“I’ll try.”

“I need to go in to the clinic later, too. Nita has been working nonstop all weekend and now this week. I need to pick up the slack.”

Reese tilted Tory’s face up with a fingertip beneath her chin and studied her. “You can’t work if you’re exhausted. Close the clinic this afternoon and go in tonight if you have to.”

“You’re one to talk,” Tory protested.

“Baby,” Reese said quietly. “I just came back from a tour where I was lucky to get two hours of uninterrupted sleep a night, and even then I was constantly listening for the sound of incoming missiles. Believe me, this is a picnic.”

Tory checked to make sure Bri and Caroline were still asleep, then she took both Reese’s hands in hers. “I feel like we’re constantly moving and I never get a chance to connect with you. And when I do see you, it’s never the right time or place to talk about some things.”

“What is it?”

“Your father pushed the papers through, right? You’re out?”

Reese sighed and Tory’s heart plummeted.

“Oh, Reese. You promised you wouldn’t re—”

“No, I didn’t.” Reese freed one hand and caressed Tory’s cheek. “I wouldn’t do that.”

“Then what?”

“I didn’t tell you before because I didn’t think it made any difference. Officially, I’m on medical leave until September. He’s holding the paperwork until then, in case…”

“In case you change your mind? In case you want to go back over there?”

“No—well…” Reese rubbed her forehead, frustrated. “I’m sure that’s what
he
thinks. But I didn’t have any plans. It’s just bureaucratic paperwork and—”

“Then why didn’t you tell me?” Tory was glad she had an excuse to speak softly, because she didn’t want Reese to hear the tremble in her voice. She was angry and she was hurt, and most of all, she was confused. “You’ve never kept secrets from me before.”

Reese looked stunned. “No! Oh, baby, no.” She cradled Tory’s face and kissed her. “I didn’t think of it that way. Christ, so much has been going on since I got back I just—I’m sorry. I don’t know why I didn’t think—”

“Okay,” Tory said quickly, her anger dissipating at the rising torment in Reese’s face.
God, she’s so vulnerable right now and I’m not helping.
It frightened her beyond belief that she could be so blind to the fact that Reese was not herself. Reese had been through an experience that would break some people, and yet she refused to even break stride. And despite Reese’s insistence that she was all right, Tory knew she wasn’t, and she could hardly expect her to behave the way she had before she went away. Wanting to turn back time, wishing that Reese could somehow be miraculously unscathed, was cowardly on her part and incredibly unfair to Reese. “I’m sorry, darling. I know you would never intentionally keep something important from me. It’s all right.”

“I haven’t called him. I haven’t done anything, Tor,” Reese whispered.

“You said you wouldn’t without talking to me.” Tory kissed her. “I believe you.” She kissed her again. “I’m sorry. I love you. God, I need you so much.”

With a muffled groan, Reese pulled her close and buried her face in Tory’s hair. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Never. Never,” Tory said firmly, caressing the back of Reese’s neck. When Reese shuddered, Tory shifted until she was holding Reese. Stroking Reese’s shoulders and back, she murmured, “You need some sleep, darling.”

Across the room, Bri stirred and sat up. “Did something happen?” She blinked, stared at Reese and Tory for a second, and then looked away. “Sorry.”

Reese straightened and rubbed her face. “Hey. Tory’s going to check on your dad, and if everything is okay, I’m going to take her home.”

“I should get Caroline home too,” Bri said as Caroline sat up, murmuring sleepily.

Tory gave an exasperated snort. “If Nelson is stable, everyone is going home.” She pointed at Bri. “No arguing. You can’t stay here the entire time he’s in the hospital.
Everyone
needs to take a break.”

Caroline put her hand on Bri’s knee. “She’s right, baby.”

Bri’s shoulders relaxed and she leaned against Caroline. “Okay. But I want to see him first.”

Tory crossed the room and took her hand. “Come on. Let’s go talk to the nurses.” She glanced back over her shoulder at Reese. “If you really love me, you’ll find coffee.”

When Reese stood, an amused grin lifting one corner of her mouth, Tory knew she would do anything in the world to keep her smiling that way. As she threaded her arm around Bri’s slender waist, she considered that perhaps love was as simple as the desire to make another person smile.

*

Deo rolled over to an empty bed and the tantalizing smell of coffee. Her eyes felt gritty beneath her closed lids. Two nights of very little sleep had caught up with her. A subtle shifting of the bed signaled that she was not alone, and she opened her eyes. Allie, naked and smiling, held out a mug of coffee.

“Hi,” Allie said before leaning down to kiss her.

It was a good morning kiss, a hello kiss—a nice kiss. Deo pushed up in bed and took the coffee. “What time is it?”

“Almost eight.”

Deo winced.

“Late for work?”

“Yeah.” She took several healthy swallows of the strong black brew and set the mug aside on the nearby bedside table. “Good thing I’m the boss.”

Allie pulled one leg up onto the bed and edged closer until her thigh rested along Deo’s. Then she skimmed her palm over Deo’s stomach. “Sorry. I don’t have to be in until ten so I didn’t set the alarm.”

“It’s only fair. I made you late yesterday.” Deo trapped Allie’s hand against her middle. She always woke up just a little bit horny and the double whammy of Allie naked and touching her was a lethal combination. Pleasantly lethal, but still a test of her self-control she doubted she would win for long. “How’s Chief Parker?”

“How did you know I checked already?”

“You’re up. You wouldn’t have gone out there in the middle of the night if he didn’t mean a lot to you.”

“I talked to Bri a few minutes ago. He’s not awake yet but he’s doing okay.”

“That’s great.” Deo noted the turmoil in Allie’s eyes. “You’re tight with Bri, aren’t you?”

“Bri. Yeah. She’s special.” Allie laughed shortly. “I guess I have a thing for falling in love with the wrong girls.”

Deo stroked Allie’s forearm and Allie’s hand started moving on her stomach again. “That’s tough.”

“No. It’s okay. I’m only halfway in love with her now.” Allie scratched her nails down the center of Deo’s stomach and laughed when Deo jerked. “But I’m still a
lot
in lust with her. Kind of like with you.”